Review: Sam Duckworth at Avondale House

Sam Duckworth, better known as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., played a surprise gig at Avondale House on Thursday night.

The Southend songwriter, who sprung to fame in 2006 with television and festival appearances, pulled in a decent crowd to the popular student pub and treated them to a set of his best known songs. Among the supports were excellent locals Signals, a real treat with their clever time signatures and beautiful vocals.

Sam had just hopped off of the train from London but was visibly fired up for the gig, dancing around while strumming out the melodies of tunes such as I Spy and War of the Worlds. His Billy Bragg-inspired folk-pop sound was even bringing in freshers’ week pub crawlers on Solent’s Big Night Out.

Sam Duckworth at Avondale

The Soton Tab sat down for a chat with Sam before his performance. Sam was on great form, saying

I’ve changed my management and a lot of the people around me, I’m proud of my new album and I’m about to start an 18 month tour, so I’m in a much better place.

His new record fan-funded on Pledge Music, is scheduled for a February release and has been described as “a love letter to a building.” Tonight, however, is strictly fan-service, sticking to the crowd-pleasing hits of the days when he played to thousands at Glastonbury.

In recent months he’s been in the studio with Southampton’s Sean McGowan, supporting Sean at a sell-out Joiners night. Always keen to see new bands, Sam was raving about Signals who he insisted are “going to be massive” and dedicating a song to them.

However, it was the Sam Duckworth show which crowned the evening. Everyone was singing along to the Get Cape material, of which we’ve all heard before but never seen performed with quite so much joy.